Message from Paul: Colin O’Brady’s Inspiring Race Across Antarctica

Last Thursday evening I had the most extraordinary conversation with a man in Antarctica. He was trekking unaccompanied across the the continent, pulling behind him a 300-pound sled that held his camping equipment, food and supplies. I first heard of Colin O’Brady a few weeks ago when a friend told me that a man was making the first solo walking trip across Antarctica and he had listened to my album, Graceland, for a solid day straight. I contacted his family after I read a piece in The New York Times about O’Brady’s mission, and his wife set up a satellite phone conversation between us. It was 10:30 p.m. his time, and 8:30 p.m. on the East Coast, where I live. The main difference was that Colin was living in 24-hour-a-day sunlight, and it was already dark outside our house.

I asked him about the landscape — entirely white with no visible landmarks, although he was climbing to an altitude of 8,000 feet. He was almost half-way through his arduous journey. I asked him if he felt lonely in the desolate landscape with no companionship. He said he spoke with his wife, Jenna, every evening. He told me that he wasn’t lonely and had a lot of time to think on all sorts of matters from the mundane to the spiritual, with more time lately on the spiritual. O’Brady is 33 years old and a Yale graduate, an experienced endurance athlete and adventurer. We promised to meet when he comes home and is rested. I’m looking forward to seeing him and hearing more about his amazing achievement.